The third Ravena

Thirdy (left) is immune to the constant comparison with his dad, former pro Bong, and Kiefer. GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

There may be more hip-hop tracks on his playlist than game plays on his head. Not that his mind isn’t really into sports. Ferdinand “Thirdy” Ravena III, the youngest of the celebrated Ravena basketball players, just happens to love music.

A few years back, Thirdy got fascinated with how DJs light up parties with cool jams. So he saved up for an equipment, learned how to spin and, eventually, had some gigs of his own. But all the music stuff remains just a hobby.

Basketball still tops Thirdy’s priority list. Although his family had long tried to ingrain in him that he’s the most athletic in the brood, the 6-foot-2 swingman has only recently embraced his skills—like how he can drop a single windmill slam or shake off defenders with a nifty crossover or go for a chasedown block.

It may have taken Thirdy some time to grasp his potential in the sport where he had to come after his father Bong, a former PBA stalwart with multiple championships, and his popular older brother Kiefer, who won back-to-back UAAP Most Valuable Player awards and also powered Ateneo to the crown twice.

When you’re third in line, perhaps pressure weighs you down. But Thirdy claims he has learned to deal with it—from the comparisons to Bong and Kiefer (“It came to a point that I no longer think about it,” he says) to the expectations of inheriting the King Eagle tag in the Ateneo men’s basketball team (“A label is just a label. What’s important is we work as a team”).

When Thirdy turned 20 a few weeks ago, Kiefer posted a birthday greeting on his social media account: “Welcome to post-teenage years or what we call the real world. Allow every opportunity to be a learning opportunity for you to be a better player and a person. Continue to work hard and be the joker in the family. We love you, brodie!”

The message echoes the Ravenas’ belief that Thirdy has more to show. “He hasn’t reached his full potential, he’s just playing the game,” his mother Mozzy says. “It came so easy with him, even if he started playing basketball late.”

“If he reaches his potential, basketball will be even easier for him,” adds Bong.

Kiefer, despite his stellar amateur career, has always been vocal about how his only brother possesses a better skill-set than him. “It came to a point that we were kind of hard on Thirdy because we wanted him to realize how good he is,” he says. “We were really pushing him to the limit. Eventually, [his talent] came out, even if it was a bit late.”

Kiefer shares: “When Thirdy got his playing time [with Ateneo in the UAAP juniors], he made it to the Mythical Five right away in third-year high school, and in fourth year, he was MVP.”

How Thirdy can seemingly just turn it on became evident again in the recent UAAP men’s basketball tournament. Despite getting cut last season due to academic deficiencies, Thirdy quickly rediscovered his groove, earned a spot on the Mythical Team and surprisingly powered a young Blue Eagles squad to the title round.

But the season didn’t end the way Thirdy wanted as he crumbled playing in the championship series against fierce rival and heavy favorite La Salle. “I was kind of pressured,” he confesses. “I admit it was my fault that I got pressured.”

The Green Archers swept the Blue Eagles in the best-of-three where Thirdy struggled, committing crucial turnovers in the final stretch of Game 1 and missing all 10 of his field-goal attempts in Game 2. “Gravity of the game,” he says. “It went into my head and affected my game. It’s not an excuse not to play.”

Postseason, Thirdy had expected to hear all the noise again—the scrutiny, the criticisms, the constant comparison with the Ravena men. But like in recent setbacks in his young career, Thirdy quickly vows: “I’ll come back stronger. Hopefully, play better—good enough to win the championship.”

Thirdy has learned to filter the negatives. Much like how he zones out when he turns his music on. Perhaps, it helps that basketball isn’t the only thing that defines this Ravena. And that’s how he wants it—him, playing to his own beat, on and off the court.